North Carolina’s law governing transgender bathroom access spurred on a battle between conservative states and liberal cities over the right to have final say on everything from plastic bags to minimum wage.

The nation’s first statewide ban on the use of plastic bags in grocery stores and other retailers was put on hold, as opponents qualified a referendum on the law that will be put before voters in 2016.

U.S. department stores have been locked in a battle with suppliers over rampant discouting ahead of the holiday shopping frenzy, the U.K. awaits the government's first budget statement after the country's vote for Brexit and Lufthansa, the German carrier, is hit by a strike again, the 14th since 2014.

November’s election is direct democracy’s busiest in California since 2000, with voters weighing 17 statewide initiatives, from legalizing marijuana to reinstating bilingual education to ending the death penalty.